Why is Orion a Man?

[Dave_D]

Just one of those silly thinks that has puzzled me in (mostly the first few of) my 40 years gawking at the marvels of the night sky and mythology... We all now know that M42 is a stellar birthplace and considering that it's just below Orions Belt, wouldn't that make Orion more like Xena?

[Steve Ward]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(mythology)#Legends

[Qualia]

Although - in principle - one could imagine many things within a given 'pattern' of stars, curiously, most cultures/civilisations across the times and the world have seen Orion as a male figure. In ancient Egypt Orion was Osiris, for Muslim astronomers of the Middle Ages, Orion was the Giant, and so on. I guess it has something to do with the sheer prominence and size of the constellation. I'm not sure on any date, but I'd guess M 42 wouldn't have been recognised as a stellar nursery and birthplace of stars until a lot, lot later, probably around the first half of the twentieth century. Seeing that we know this now, I feel there is no reason why we couldn't change the name and idea of 'Orion'. It certainly could be termed as Xena, but to be understood as to what we were referring to we'd also have to arrive to some kind of universal, common consensus.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Oddly enough, the mythology of Orion goes back even further than Xena, before the nature of the nebula was understood. 

[coulthamst]

Perhaps Orion's "sword" is a euphemism - in which case the figure is identifiably male.

[Space Dragon]

Perhaps Orion's "sword" is a euphemism - in which case the figure is identifiably male.

Most likely the case........

[Pig]

That's one big euphemism

There is also the bow to consider !!!!

Have you ever seen the majority of our lovely women trying to get to grips with a bow & arrow ?  They let go of the bow, keep hold of the string the arrow falls on the floor and they get a fat lip for their trouble 

Most certainly a guy

[Joseki]

http://xkcd.com/1020/

[Scooot]

That's one big euphemism

There is also the bow to consider !!!!

Have you ever seen the majority of our lovely women trying to get to grips with a bow & arrow ?  They let go of the bow, keep hold of the string the arrow falls on the floor and they get a fat lip for their trouble 

Most certainly a guy

You're going to have Bellatrix Le String after you

[JamesF]

There is also the bow to consider !!!!

Have you ever seen the majority of our lovely women trying to get to grips with a bow & arrow ?  They let go of the bow, keep hold of the string the arrow falls on the floor and they get a fat lip for their trouble 

When I was at university I used to shoot with a (female) student who represented Great Britain at archery at the Barcelona and Seoul olympics.  You'd not have said that anywhere near her

James

[rowan46]

essentially because that is what the greeks called it. 

[rowan46]

That's one big euphemism

There is also the bow to consider !!!!

Have you ever seen the majority of our lovely women trying to get to grips with a bow & arrow ?  They let go of the bow, keep hold of the string the arrow falls on the floor and they get a fat lip for their trouble 

Most certainly a guy

As to the joke about women using a bow. I used to shoot a bit myself and there were plenty of women who were better than me. There are legends, myths and histories of many women through the ages who were warriors. From artemis goddess of the hunt in ancient greece, kali in hindu mythology to more modern times of the soe in france during the second world war and the women of the french resistance. They even let women on combat duty now.

[forasibi]

Oh man, I can see where this thread is heading  . . . ..

[Dave_D]

That's one big euphemism

There is also the bow to consider !!!!

Have you ever seen the majority of our lovely women trying to get to grips with a bow & arrow ?  They let go of the bow, keep hold of the string the arrow falls on the floor and they get a fat lip for their trouble 

Most certainly a guy

Dunno about that, i used to do sealed knot  and there were quite a few women archers... and they were quite good. admittedly most had trouble drawing the 100lb longbows, but put a 60lb in their hands and they were just as capable as anyone else looked better too, unlike me who usually ended up looking like Baldricks' scruffy brother    

Oh man, I can see where this thread is heading  . . . ..

Heh yeah... it wasn't meant to be a serious debate or anything... i've studied the mythology of a lot of cultures and the origins of the constellations are not in question.

[crashtestdummy]

I always just thought it was because hunters were traditionally men back in the day

[Paranoidsam]

Its for the simple reason that the constellations predate our understanding of nebulae...

There's plenty of chicks up there...

[Pig]

Personally I think women are better at most things compared to us men

[Lancashire Astroguy]

As far as I can think (I'm sure someone will correct me), there are only three unambiguously female constellations - Virgo, Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Where as the skies are littered with male heroes like Orion, Perseus and Hercules, all the ladies have got is a virgin, a damsel-in-distress, and a foolish queen who boasted of her daughter's beauty. Obviously, the constellations names need reviewing with regards to equal opportunities.

Come to think of it, perhaps Draco is female as well. I'm sure it was named after my mother-in-law!